In state of UFC's 205-pound division, White not worried about contenders for Jones

LOS ANGELES – Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (20-6 MMA, 4-4 UFC) headlines Saturday’s UFC on FOX 4 card against Brandon Vera (12-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC), and he does so just two months removed from being linked to a fight his boss says he had no interest in.

The UFC targeted a fight between Rua and recent promotional newcomer Glover Teixeira (18-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) earlier this summer, but Rua, White said not long after the fight was public knowledge, had no interest in the matchup.

Instead, Teixeira now will meet Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (32-10 MMA, 7-4 UFC) at UFC 153 in Teixeira’s native Brazil in October. But on Thursday, White said other light heavyweights not exactly lining up to fight him is something Teixeira might have to get used to.

“I’m sure no one’s going to be happy about (fighting Teixeira),” White told a small group of media members after a news conference for UFC on FOX 4 in Los Angeles. “We’ll see how it goes with Rampage. (It’s an) interesting fight – both have really good chins and both hit hard.

“People are going to have to fight him. You can use the excuse, ‘Listen, nobody knows who he is,’ this and that. If he beats Rampage, it’s going to be tough to say that.”

Teixeira in May, in his UFC debut, made easy work of Kyle Kingsbury with a first-round submission that ran his win streak to 16.

In June, White said Rua told him he would rather be cut from the UFC than fight Teixeira.

Rua now finds himself in position to gain a possible title shot against Jon Jones, who beat him to win the light heavyweight title in March 2011. Rua’s fight with Vera and the bout between fellow former champ Lyoto Machida (17-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) and Ryan Bader (14-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC), White says, will determine the next challenger for the Jones-Dan Henderson winner.

A Teixeira win over Jackson in October might not leave him far from that type of title talk. So, too, is the scenario for Alexander Gustafsson (14-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC), who awaits his next fight – which White told MMAjunkie.com is just around the corner.

But consider Jones has wins over Rua, Vera, Machida and Bader – all but Vera coming just this past year – it begs the question of whether there are any tough fights left for Jones at light heavyweight.

White believes there are, and there will continue to be – same as has been the case for middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

“That’s what they’ve been saying about Anderson Silva since 2006,” White on Thursday told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “There are always contenders. There are always guys. It’s up these guys. On Saturday night, they’ve got to go in there, and they’ve got to deliver.”

White suffered some backlash on Twitter after announcing the Rua-Vera winner would get the next shot at the title. Vera has won just once in his past four outings. Rua has lost two of three, including the title.

So he made the shot up for grabs to the one of the four 205-pounders who wins the “most impressively” Saturday night. But for those quick to criticize the four Saturday contenders and want to see folks like Gustafsson or Teixeira elevated quicker, White offers a caution.

“‘Shogun’ Rua had a ‘Fight of the Year’ last year against Dan Henderson, who is now fighting ‘Bones’ Jones for the title,” White said. “How quickly we forget, everybody. We’ll see what happens on Saturday. Again, don’t judge fights until they happen.”

As the UFC 189 tour made its last stop in Dublin, featherweight champ Jose Aldo was met with a torrent of abuse from the Irish fans. It might have been unpleasant, but it might also have been just what he needed.